Super God-Level Top Student

But at this moment, he felt as if the sky were about to collapse.

"...Jack, this is the best outcome we could fight for on your behalf. In fact, you should know that, based on your actions and the significant damage caused to the journal's reputation, you could have been dismissed without a penny of compensation according to the regulations.

But considering your years of service and the fact that this incident had a cause, I still managed to get you this compensation."

"Of course, this money isn't free... You must admit to the mistakes you've made on a public platform. That is, during your communication with Ackerman Konietz, you unintentionally leaked the identity of the paper's author, leading to some subsequent unpleasant events. This way, it's better for everyone."

The middle-aged man's words across him were like the incessant, maddening buzz of an annoying fly in his ear.

Unfortunately, he didn't even dare to interrupt.

"What about Carl, the editor-in-chief?" After a long silence, Jack finally spoke up.

"He has already taken a long vacation to reflect on life's gains and losses. And from now on, I will be in charge of the editorial department, but I think that's not something you need to worry about. So, are you ready? Either take this check and voluntarily shoulder the responsibilities you should bear or be kicked out immediately."

"Mr. Robert, but this isn't fair. I was just assigned to that paper by chance. I had no authority to decide which papers could be published and which ones should be abandoned. If I admit to these errors, it will be very difficult for me to find a similar job again."

"Jack, don't you understand? This world has never been about fairness, only choices. For you, taking responsibility and then starting a new life with this money is the best choice. The good news is, people's memories aren't that long-lasting. This money is enough for you to live until everyone forgets today's incident, and maybe then you could find an easier job at a school.

Like a teaching assistant... Now, make a decision fast, I have a lot of things to deal with. My God, heaven knows how long it will take me to clean up this mess."

...

Half an hour later, Jack, carrying a box filled with his personal belongings, walked out of the building where the editorial office was located.

Standing outside the building, hesitating for a moment, he walked over to a bench in the square opposite and sat down.

Turning his head, he could see the place where he had been working half an hour ago.

He still liked that desk.

Because standing up, he could see the view outside the window.

He just never thought that today, he would become part of the scenery.

Sixty thousand US Dollars, in exchange for ten years of his youth and effort.

Damn Sumant!

Damn Duke!

Damn Germans!

Right, and the most damned of all, the Huaxia people!

Just as Jack was incessantly cursing his fate, a shadow suddenly fell over him.

He looked up instinctively and saw a familiar figure.

"Carl, the editor-in-chief?"

"No, I'm no longer the editor-in-chief."

Jack was silent.

Two disheartened men, ah!

Carl, the former editor-in-chief, sat beside Jack, staring ahead, and said to himself, "I remember you always liked looking out the window at this spot, saying you enjoyed watching the people sitting here and then reflecting on their lives?"

Jack didn't make a sound.

Even though they were no longer in a superior-subordinate relationship, he didn't want to tell his former boss that he was actually looking at the women.

Fortunately, Carl clearly didn't expect an answer. After a moment of silence, he spoke again, "I just got news that Ackerman suddenly had a cerebral hemorrhage, but he was resuscitated in time and has already regained consciousness. The University of Cologne has decided to open source their self-monitoring three-dimensional point cloud array, making all related code public."

Jack was stunned, then suddenly felt much better.

Compared to losing his job, this loss might be even greater.

After all, it was a technology worth at least a few million US Dollars, all open-sourced.

It seems they are doing everything they can to restore their reputation.

"What about the Huaxia person?"

"They... they haven't responded yet."

"No response, eh?"

"Yeah, no response yet."

...

Why can't top scholars be as famous as celebrities? That's a question of perspective.

But the most likely reason is that there's a natural moat between academia and the average person.

People often complain, asking why we need to learn so much brain-burning math when we don't use systems of equations for grocery shopping.

After all, without ten or twenty years of study, most people can't understand any doctoral thesis in the sciences.

Even if the proof in the thesis is beautifully written.

People inherently dislike paying too much attention to fields they aren't good at.

But there's one thing in common.

In the age of the internet, everyone loves a good spectacle.

Not to mention Qiao Ze's name is still trending on Huaxia's internet.

The official response from Xilin University of Technology and the Weibo post by Yu Hongwei have made many people realize that this so-called freshman might not be as simple as they thought.

When someone noticed the big news overseas and started sharing screenshots to various forums, thus breaking out of the circle, a whole bunch of latecomers realized Qiao Ze was really not simple at all.

The first to break out was a major forum for international students.

"Good gracious, what a scoop! A Turing Award winner from Berkeley Branch is clashing with a Gauss Award winner from Cohen Institute of Mathematics, all because of Qiao Ze's paper. And what's scarier, Qiao Ze even watermarked his paper, but forget it, this is too hard to describe. Just look at the picture yourselves!"

"That's old news, the results are already out! Berkeley Branch has knocked out Cohen Institute of Mathematics!"

"Did you all hear too? My supervisor stayed up all night in the lab surfing the net. Made me too scared to slack off for even a minute."

"Pfft, that's nothing! We were suddenly required to perform a comprehensive review of our papers... For f*ck's sake! Graduating from Germany was hard enough without this mess. Now, I'm really wondering if I can even graduate. Honestly, I've thought about buying a ticket to go hack that old guy at the Cohen Institute of Mathematics!"

"No need to come! Latest news, the old man just had a stroke and has been hospitalized. The university has urgently moved all historical materials related to the project to open-source repositories! And while you're just checking papers, we could end up having to get pre-approval from the academic integrity committee on campus before we can submit papers for publication abroad. Damn!

That Qiao Ze and Li Jiangao are really something!"

...

The delightful face-off between the two big shots on Facebook and the various mockeries from the international peanut gallery who watched the drama unfold were swiftly lifted by a group of international students onto Huaxia's internet.

The facts also confirmed what Qiao Ze once told Li Jiangao.

When everything is brought into the light, the power of discourse in this world subtly shifts.

Although an ordinary person's voice is small, when the raging spirit of gossip ignites, the voices of the crowd amplified by the internet can indeed be ear-splitting.

"Damn, is this real? All these foreign big shots are fighting over that Qiao Ze?"

"Can someone tell me if this is really happening? A mathematics professor from University of Cologne plagiarized a high school student's paper?"

"I'm just asking out of ignorance, is putting watermarks in papers an international norm?"

"I can't bear to look! I saw a student from Tie Gao High School claiming that Qiao Ze used to be made to stand by his math teacher... I'd like that high school teacher to come out and take a walk."

"That's right, I am Qiao Ze's former high school math teacher, and now I've gone into seclusion, so stop calling me!"

"I thought it was outrageous when Qiao Ze's roommates said he tried to give pointers to that professor named Zhao Guangyao as soon as he arrived at the school, but now it seems the outrageous thing isn't this incident, it's this person!"

Besides this, the comments from some netizens would definitely bring Xu Dajiang great satisfaction.

"Isn't the strength of Westwood University of Technology Mathematics Institute severely underestimated? I just checked, its rating is only B+? Shouldn't it be higher?"

"Do you even have to ask? Let me put it this way, among all the universities that have Schools of Mathematics in the country, which one has recruited such an awesome incoming freshman?"

"I missed out! If I had known, I would've applied to Xilin University of Technology this year!"

"Retake the year!"

"An old-timer's advice, don't go! Just take a look at their final exam papers, and you'll see the professors are inhumane!"

"The person above clearly doesn't get it. It's precisely because the exams are difficult that there's a challenge! If their questions were as simple as those at Yanbei Mathematics Institute, who would even bother going to Xilin University of Technology?"

"?!"

...